Does this challenge traditional standards of beauty? Or is it unhealthy?(Warning/Graphic pictures)

Yossi Loloi is a photographic artist.

He has recently taken pictures of plus size models.

His presentation is called "Full Beauty."

His mission statement is posted here:

In my work I portray what larger women represent to me. I focus on their fullness and femininity, as a form of protest against discrimination set by media and by today’s society.
What larger women embody to me is simply a different form of beauty. I believe we own ‘freedom of taste’ and one shouldn’t be reluctant of expressing his inclination towards it. Limiting this freedom is living in a dictatorship of esthetics.
I believe there are several ways to what is perceived as beauty, it is not measurable and has not got a standard size.
I photograph my models nude and serene, to create a comfortable, proud and constructive representation of themselves in front of the viewer

Everyone is aware of the ridiculous beauty standards our society demands of everyone, especially women. There is also an overwhelming pressure to be thin and young. Features of ethnic minorities are often excluded as negative beauty traits. This is wrong.

However, does this go too far in the other direction? Obesity is a serious problem. It leads to millions of deaths every year and drives up health care costs. I'm all for expanding standards of beauty, but is this too "PC" when we begin celebrating women who based on weight and BMI aren't likely to be at their healthiest?

5. These women aren't just obese, they are super-obese (BMI greater than 50)

77. The proper name is Morbid Obesity. I know because I am heavy and that is what the

dr put on paper before I had major surgery to lose weight. No it isn't pretty and I can tell you the heart break it feels like. The surgery helped me lose the weight but in the end I had lost of medical problems because of it. But I wouldn't change it. I started gaining my weight back when I hit 50 and started having medical problems. But I will tell you this much I thank these women for taking these pictures. They sure show confidence I never had. I remembing having to take a nude picture for my doctor before surgery. I was 25, still a virgin and the person taking the picture was a guy and I was in tears. Funny what you remember. Yes these women are over weight but they are just like any other woman who has feels inside. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't take a nude even if I were thin.

108. Kitty even as big as I was when I was young I worked ring around my fellow clerks. It was

nothing in those old long red building that had no elevators to have to take the mail down to the basement which was 3 floors down and come back up. I had my cloths made and even went and had my hair done once a week. No one could ever say I looked like a slob. Because that is the picture most people have of heavy people. They think they are stupid. Well I never let my weight get in the way of doing my job. Never, and I was rewarded for it. I would have people say you are so beautiful if you only would lose weight. I tried and tried losing 100lbs on weight watchers first and then gaining it back. I will tell you this much as you get older and older it does get in the way of doing the things you like to do. But you know you can go crazy over and over and finally you done everything you can and finally you say to yourself enough of this yo-yo you are doing harm. I am still heavy and I don't like it but I managed not to yo-yo and that is important to me. I got to live in this body god gave me. I have learned to love myself with the help of a great husband of 34 yrs. But if your just alittle overweight please try not to keep going up because just doing the things you like to do is hard. Good luck. Thanks for the hugs. I give them back to you.

11. I dunno

Is judging a woman based on her weight/size somehow less objectionable if you're doing so in praise of how large she is rather than how small? Is she not still being judged based on looks without any consideration for her character?

12. I appreciate her stated attempt to push back --

against our ridiculous beauty standards.

With that said, these women are not "plus size" or even Rubenesque -- they are morbidly obese. IMO, presenting this unhealthy form as to be admired is no different than presenting "heroin chic" as fashionable and desirable.

13. In my opinion, they are unhealthy.

1. I'm absolutely certain their weight prevents them from participating in life to the fullest - and by that I mean even simple things like taking a walk through the forest, or swinging on a swing, or riding a bike. Their weight would make any of these tasks almost insurmountably difficult.

2. The strain on their heart and other organs is unhealthy. Their risk for really terrible conditions like diabetes and stroke is very high.

3. The societal costs for all of us as we grow more obese must be addressed with some degree of objectivity. Its costing us, a lot. Ignore that at our peril.

I think these women are very beautiful. I admire the "art" of the photos.

14. I would just prefer normal looking women

not anorexic and not huge. Just average women with a few rolls, some cellulite and some stretch marks. Why does it have to be extremes on either side? Most women aren't skinny like models nor are they hugely obese. I think we challenge beauty standards when we show real women, warts and all.

16. Both

It's not that these aren't beautiful women, but obesity carries a lot of health risks. I think these are adult women who probably know more than I do about those risks and are trying to deal with self image in a revealing, positive way. It take a lot of courage.

What I like about this, aside from the Rubenesque attempts at photography, is that these women are participating in a project where they can feel good about their bodies. They may or may not get to a point where weight loss is a serious concern health wise, but along that journey, I wish them health and happiness ---without shame-- for all our BBW

18. First three: the Goddess of Willendorf

After that, it gets to be too much to look at (no pun intended).

There are some men who find great size erotic, but I think not many. I really think, as I look at these women, that their health is very likely at stake -- but, like other health issues (for instance abortion), that is very much a matter between them and their doctor, and none of our business.

In the mid-60s I entered college, and quickly became friends with Diane. She was smart as a whip and funny, and had a nicely skewed view of life. Her family was amazingly dysfunctional.

She was obese, and that was not usual then. I was a thin little thing raised by an overweight mother who could not stop beating herself up for being fat; also I was under 115 pounds and she thought my butt was fat, for gods' sake. When Mom met Diane, she liked her intelligence and wit, but sure enough in private the old obsession with fat came out. My teenaged brother said he "felt sick" when he looked at her.

When I looked at Diane, I saw my friend. I thought other people should have the grace to keep their opinions to themselves. If my callow young brother was not sexually attracted, he didn't have to be. If my mother was neurotic about her own issues, couldn't she at least stop projecting them onto other people? And if society at large had unrealistic and judgmental standards of beauty, so effing what?

I moved away, but we remained friends for many many years, and only finally lost touch some time after she entered a nursing home in her late 50s. She broke her thigh bone in a fall, and became bedridden. She had diabetes. Her parents and extended family were not obese but they were all "short-lifers"....

You see, for many reasons I have given this issue a lot of thought. In a sense this is my eulogy for my friend, who is probably no longer alive. In the end, her obesity affected her health -- but so did her DNA.

I hope the ladies pictured find the happiness that eluded my friend, and find the satisfaction that she found in her creative life and her working life.

87. Beautifully said nt

24. This just makes me sad.

These women need help. I've been there... morbidly obese. These women are in severe emotional pain. Don't bother arguing with me unless you can speak from personal experience like I can. They are in a virtual prison - trapped inside hundreds of pounds of emotional pain and desperation. There is nothing wrong with photographing them like you might capture moments of human crisis anywhere, but it still makes me incredibly sad. I wish I could help them.

51. Thank you for speaking

I have had a couple of severely overweight close friends. Neither of them were happy with it at ALL. And while acceptance by others is desirable, it's more the acceptance of oneself that is the point. These women need and deserve help because it not healthy in body, but especially not in mind. The photos are done as tastefully as possible and are artistic, but they are more important as documentary. The women who posed are brave and beautiful in spirit.

I'm all for "plus" size being more acceptable as long as it doesn't affect physical and mental health to the point of serious disability. I had a quadriplegic nephew who died young, & I understand the visibility problem as people were always saying "you shouldn't bring him out in public." That really hurt. So yes, people need to see. And develop some compassion instead of rejection. But was my nephew happy being a quadriplegic. No. And these women are not happy being incapacitated. It is a disability issue.

26. that is morbid obesity

Not only unhealthy, but at high risk of heart attack and almost certain to develop type 2 diabetes if they aren't already there.

I find it hard to believe they can engage in any normal physical activity without feeling strain on their feet, backs and joints.

Frankly, I don't find anything beautiful in this. There is a vast difference between being "Twiggy" and being at their weight levels. Heavier women were once considered beautiful because they offered proof of a husband's wealth...he could afford to feed "his women" well and they obviously didn't have to work (in the garden or in the fields).

I have no problem with people carrying a little extra weight, and certainly anorexic is equally unhealthy, but that is sad and disconcerting. It's part due to sedentary lifestyle, but I suspect a large part of gluttony went into make those sizes. How many starving people could be fed on their diets?

38. I have to agree.

My daughter was morbidly obese. She could not even bend down to tie the laces on her shoes. Finally, she became so obese that she was bordering on 400 pounds. She finally opted for bypass surgery. She lost 200 pounds and is still struggling to lose more.

41. Have you read "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman?

He has helped many people in the 500 pound weight range, some unable even to walk, to get down to their personal normal/best weight, without sacrifice, although with many changes to *what* they eat...

I read it last summer. I wasn't obese, but slowly headed there. I lost 4 inches around my waist painlessly and quickly. I am already at a much healthier, happier size for me. Another 2 inches or so, and I expect to hold steady...

32. I assume that posters here know there is a fat woman fetish that enslaves...

....some women just as surely as prostitution does? Where the john gets off on the helpless state of the woman who has deliberately made herself fatter and fatter in order to make big $$ from the man or men? I saw an episode about this a couple of months ago on TV and I was shocked, shocked at the nature of the relationships and how demeaning it was for the women.

36. Feederism --

Yes, I have heard of this. I find it interesting that (to my knowledge) men are primarily the feeders and women the feedees. I find that deeply disturbing.

On edit: I further read the text and found this:

"By showcasing women up to 600 pounds, Loloi shows a softness and beauty to an often ignored body type. On his website Loloi writes: "I believe we own ‘freedom of taste’ and one shouldn’t be reluctant of expressing his inclination towards it. Limiting this freedom is living in a dictatorship of aesthetics."

Hmmm, now I suspect that this is less about pushing back against modern beauty standards and more about this male artist's sexual attraction to obese women.

93. oh yes....that's what I saw on TV

33. I can appreciate the artistic nature, but as one who struggled with body image throughout life....

I am incredibly conflicted. Someone said it made them squirm. It does me a bit as well, but not necessarily because of any issues with respect to their large forms, but because they ARE comfortable "in their skin" enough to pose, and I, on my best day and year of life, would never have had that self-confidence.

If I take anything from it, I hope it is that while I continue making progress in my efforts to try to get back to my own optimal weight (which I've not experienced in quite a few years), I think I can celebrate the progress along the way without obsessing.

I can't say I don't feel some concern for their health. That said, no one knows more than I that ones own body and what you do with it simply must be a personal decision. I applaud these ladies for their courage and self-acceptance. In a society that fosters self-loathing among those not meeting society's norms, they are quite the exception.

61. I agree & pray their bravery begins a healing spiral

And I pray their courage at revealing themselves is the catalyst to begin healthier eating & moving. Their addiction to overeating shows in a way that many (not all) alcoholics & other addicts (whether to electronics, porn, gambling, shopping, etc.) don't.

86. I call it that evil nicotine monkey

he never really lets go; he just hangs around, hoping for a weak moment. But I educated myself on how he operates and beat him at his own game! I learned what it took after several relapses: NOPE (NOT ONE PUFF EVER) The pot monkey never really got his mitts on me (sure I sampled but it always made me paranoid).

46. High fructose corn syrup is our generation's nicotine. nt

49. this is way more than corn syrup

I live on junk food / boxed food / vended food/ - almost all processed junk (am sitting here eating a bag of twizzlers) and have never been overweight - these gals probably suffer from an obsession with food

50. Those aren't "plus size" models they are plus to the tenth power models

And no, they are no healthier than the emaciated waifs with figures of pre pubescent boys that seem to be in favor today.

I don't find either extreme attractive.

I am married to a woman who would probably be considered "plus size" and after 50 years together I still get excited when I see her nekkid. I can't do as much about it these days but the stirring is still there. But my point is she probably weighs less than one of these "plus size" models legs.

53. i think the Dove Models were more of representing healthy without going to extremes

on either side.

unless they are trying to send a message that the models in OP are healthy i don't really have a problem with it. i kind of wonder if the photographer is making a point with it though. how it is another extreme like the usual thin models.

57. Well, the glorification of the super-thin model certainly played a role

in the anorexia epidemic, but I hardly think anyone is going to be tempted to put on a couple hundred extra pounds because of these pics.

I don't presume that extremely obese people chose that body shape. I expect that every one of them would change if it were within their power to do so, just out of personal comfort issues if not for other (obvious) reasons. If pics like this can help them and those like them to feel better about themselves, I'm all for it.

65. Not being stick-thin is fine, but these pictures are simply disgusting (nt)

66. Super unhealthy

While I applaud these women for not being afraid to show off their bodies, their bodies in their present state are extremely unhealthy. I think it would be a false equivalency to equate these women to skinny women. These are in much more physical shape than others.

70. It's unhealthy. Not the photography, but the morbid obesity.

I'll bet every one of those women would give just about anything to be smaller and more "normal" in weight.

This is a disorder. This is very different from someone gaining a few pounds. These people find it difficult to function normally because of their size. They can't perform many types of jobs. They also die young. This is not a matter of liking a woman with a little meat on her.

It's the same as photographing people who have other disorders. Some are attracted to them because of it, but that doesn't mean it's not a disorder.

80. It's art, it's unhealthy, it's a symptom...

Excess weight is the most obvious symptom. Not everyone gets obese in the same way, well technically they do, calories in, not enough burned.

But, each person has their own set of problems that lead to obesity so the cure isn't always the same either.

One of the biggest culprits is lack of sleep. It leads to having more hours in the day to eat, you eat to keep your energy level up, and even worse if you don't get enough sleep your body processes food differently.

Another problem is they are malnourished. It sounds crazy, but it's true. They aren't getting the right nutrients and the ones they are getting come at a high calorie cost. If they increase their fiber intake and decrease empty calories they could lose weight with minimal pain. The problems will come down the road when they need excess skin removed.

Lastly but probably not leastly, they have trouble moving. So, they could have a goal of 30 minutes of light activity a day for a short time and keep increasing their activity. Unfortunately they might have to lose some weight to even get to the point of being able to move for 30 minutes.

I can really relate to these women even though I am not quite as big. I found out quite by accident that I was missing some key nutrients. Adding fiber alone has given me more energy, helped my joints be more mobile, gotten rid of most my brain fog, and I am losing some weight. I don't have a scale so I don't know how much, but I lost a size before I even knew I was losing.

91. To judge "beauty" is an emotional response.

95. I know someone who looked like those pictures till she had weight-loss surgery

Her blood pressure went down and her type II diabetes disappeared, as did her joint problems. She had to have follow-up plastic surgery to remove all the sagging skin, but she is not sorry that she had the weight-loss surgery.

I'm no willowy sylph myself, but weighing 300 and 400 pounds simply is not healthy. On the other hand, neither is an adult woman who wears a size 0 healthy. I knew some anorexics when I was in graduate school, and they were downright spooky in their insistence that they were fat and in their refusal to eat.

107. There is nothing beautful about this.

Sorry, but I don't find morbid obesity fascinating nor beautiful.

Maybe it's because I lost my best friend to it several years ago (she could barely breathe and was in the hospital more times than she was out) or maybe it's because I hear morbidly obese people every single day where I work making jokes about their weight and what they eat. It makes me sad, and it makes me angry.

Nothing to celebrate here. Sorry. As others have said, this is just the other extreme end of the spectrum from heroin chic.